Developers propose “Green Exchange” at Cooper lamp factory

When lamp maker Frederick Cooper Inc. revealed in 2004 that it planned to close its factory at 2545 W. Diversey, many observers said it was inevitable the factory would become a condominium development. In fact, one of the city’s biggest condo developers was sketching plans for 150 loft units.

Fast forward to November 2006: 150 people packed a restaurant banquet room to learn about a different plan for the old factory. Baum Realty, a commercial development firm, outlined its proposal for “Green Exchange,” a center for businesses that produce environmentally sustainable products. The renovated factory would house showrooms, offices, retail shops and space for start-up companies.

The Baum proposal represents a huge victory in the community campaign to preserve the factory for jobs and economic development. Leading the effort has been the Cooper Lamps Task Force, an alliance of neighbors, veteran Cooper workers, LSNA leaders and the LEED Council, an agency that promotes industrial retention in the area.

“We don’t need more condos,” explained Task Force leader Juan Gonzalez, a deacon at Resurrection Catholic Church, who saw his east Avondale neighborhood increasingly surrounded by large-scale condo developments that local families could not afford. “But we do need space for good jobs.”

The Task Force organized a public meeting of 200 people and convinced Ald. Manny Flores (1st) to support a commercial use. Soon after, the condo developer sold the factory to Baum.

Baum is asking the City to approve a customized zoning change that would allow a mix of commercial, retail and “work-live” units. At the November meeting, neighbors asked tough questions, including whether the project would produce blue-collar jobs. Task Force leaders called for several changes in the plan, including reserving space for distribution or light industrial companies, decreasing the number of work-live units, lowering projected rent levels to attract start-up companies and using part of the building as a job training center.

“If it weren’t for neighborhood leaders like Juan Gonzalez, this proposal would never have been possible,” says Mike Holzer, director of economic development at the LEED Council. “We want to make sure that neighborhood families, who are mostly low and moderate income, get to participate in and benefit from this innovative project.”